Lover of ‘Whitey’ Bulger pleads not guilty to contempt

BOSTON – The longtime girlfriend and fugitive companion of James “Whitey” Bulger has pleaded not guilty to a contempt charge for refusing to say whether other people helped the Boston mobster during his 16 years on the run.

Catherine Greig entered the plea Monday on the new charge in U.S. District Court. A judge ordered her to return Nov. 19.

The 64-year-old Greig is serving an eight-year sentence for conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.

The indictment alleges that from December 2014 until last month, Greig disobeyed a judge’s order to testify before a grand jury in an investigation into who assisted and harbored the mobster.

Bulger, now 86, fled Boston just before being indicted in early 1995. He was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives until he was captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. He and Greig had been living together in a rent-controlled apartment.

When Greig was sentenced on the original charges in 2012, her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said Greig was in love with Bulger when she fled with him and did not believe that Bulger was capable of murder.

In 2013, Bulger was convicted of playing a role in 11 murders and other charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment.

Prosecutors said Greig had numerous opportunities to leave Bulger during their time on the run. Instead, they said she helped him remain a fugitive by using false identities and posing as his wife so she could pick up his prescriptions.

The couple posed as married retirees from Chicago. After they were captured, authorities found a stash of more than $800,000 in cash and 30 weapons in their apartment.